The professional fitness model and body builder, from Connecticut in the US, has no working pulse. After his heart was destroyed by an unknown virus, Andrew has had to rely on an artificial heart which he has to charge every night.

"It's kind of a freak thing," Andrew explains on a a recent episode Home & Family, an American talk show. "My heart was attacked by an unknown virus. I didn't start feeling symptoms until I started becoming more intense with my workouts." The 26-year-old remembers becoming short of breath while out for a run. He went to a cardiologist to have tests done, but the results were inconclusive. In fact, it was only years later when his symptoms flared up again, that Andrew realised that something was horribly wrong.

"I was having pneumonia-like symptoms, I was tired all the time, and I eventually I had to stop working out, and I had to stop working," he recalls. After he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at 22, a chronic disease of the heart muscle, he remained hospitalized in the ICU for four months awaiting a heart transplant match. He is still waiting.

Meanwhile, he survives on the rechargeable heart that he received a year ago.

Despite this, Andrew maintains an active lifestyle. "It's hard to pinpoint the moment that I decided I was going to live a no excuses lifestyle," he says. "I feel like that was always a part of me. It was something you have to accept. It was either that or die." He regularly documents his unique journey on his Instagram page. "My heart may have failed, my heart may be down, but it sure as hell is not out. Getting stronger as I await my gift of life... present your excuses," he captioned one video.

"I had my fair share of bad news come my way, and you've really just got to take it head-on and give it all you've got," he continues. "Even though I'm a heart transplant patient, you find ways to do the things that you want to do. You make the most of it."